Vivianne Amelia Blanlot Soza (born October 22, 1956 in

La Serena, Chile La Serena () is a city and commune in northern Chile, capital of the Coquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country's second oldest city after the national capital, Santiago. As of 2012, it had a communal population of roughly 200,000, an ...

) is a Chilean economist and politician. Her father Jorge Enrique Blanlot was an Army captain, and her grandfather General Enrique Blanlot Reisig. She has a degree in economics from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

and MA in the same discipline applied by the American University in the United States.

Biography

Between 1980 and 1990 she served as an economist in charge of the evaluation of investments and programs in the area of energy, mining, water and road infrastructure in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). She was executive director of the National Environmental Commission (CONAMA) between 1995 and 1997 in Chile.

Political career

In 2000 she took over as executive secretary of the National Energy Commission (CNE), serving until 2003, after differences of opinion with the minister, Jorge Rodríguez Grossi. In 2005 she joined the board of BancoEstado and worked as a consultant in the areas of energy and environment for telecommunications company IGT. In 2006 President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

appointed her as

Minister of National Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

. She acted as the only government representative at the funeral of former dictator

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

, where she faced boos from Pinochet supporters. She was replaced by José Goñi Carrasco in March 2007.Bloomberg
/ref> In late 2011 she was appointed as a member of the Council for Transparency. In 2012 she joined the board of Colbún, a Chilean power generation and trading company.

Personal life

She married twice, first to Oscar Alvarez; after his death she married, and later separated from, Enrique Mendez.

References

1956 births Living people Chilean Ministers of Defense People from La Serena Chilean people of French descent Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni American University alumni Female defence ministers Party for Democracy (Chile) politicians {{Chile-politician-stub